"Progressives don't have to be boring," said Leon Oboler, organizer of the carnival-like rally.

"Why?" he continued. "Because that's what we're doing, we're having fun together."

Oboler then grabbed a long list with contact information for each of the causes represented at the rally. He told assembled reporters to call every one of them, to listen to what each group had to say about the issues it campaigned for.

But not all participants in the rally were as interested in social justice as those on Oboler's list. Interspersed between the tables advocating capitalism's overthrow were red and white carnival tents offering three dollar cups of lemonade, four dollar pretzels and "all beef diggity dogs."

The capitalists were at work.

The frankfurter intrusion was, according to to Oboler, an unfortunate result of the compromise with the city--which made the rally contingent on, among other things, the vendor's presence.

The hot dogs sold briskly, despite the remonstrance of a porcine Jiminy Cricket--a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals protester in a pig suit shouting slogans at waiting patrons.